London gross salary must be tested after tax, national insurance, rent and commuting. A central role can still fail once housing is priced.

Confirm whether the role is with the UK employer, a project company, a client secondment or a regional office. That answer affects workplace and travel cost.

Use the rent table before accepting. Canary Wharf, west London, south-west family areas and east London produce different household results.

Ask whether private medical insurance covers spouse and children and whether the employer pays school support, relocation and visa costs directly.

Relocation clawback, probation, notice and bonus timing should be read before accepting. A clawback can matter if housing or school plans fail.

Never treat discretionary bonus as rent money. The offer should work on fixed pay and documented allowances.

The comparator should show salary, rent, tax timing, school fees and arrival cash as separate lines.

Salary; Gross pay tested after tax, national insurance and pension.

Housing; Rent, deposit, council tax, commute and break clause checked.

Schools; Tuition cap, registration fees, transport and exam costs separated.

Health; NHS surcharge, private cover, spouse and children checked.

Put annual gross salary, fixed allowances, bonus, pension, relocation, school support, private medical cover and travel on separate lines. Convert recurring cash to the employer's pay frequency, but keep conditional or annual benefits on their actual dates. Never add a discretionary bonus to dependable monthly income.

Use current England income-tax and employee National Insurance information for the relevant tax year, then label the result as an estimate until payroll records exist. Tax code, pension and personal circumstances can alter net pay. Obtain advice for residence, overseas income or another complex position rather than forcing the issue into a simple calculator.

Keep employer-paid suppliers, reimbursements and cash allowances in different columns. A direct hotel booking removes that invoice; a reimbursed deposit still needs employee cash first. Value each benefit by the household cost actually removed, not its headline cap.

Compare employer, sponsor, occupation, salary, hours, location and start date across offer, contract and Certificate details. Ask the employer to explain every difference before acceptance. In the London offer record, never treat a higher package total as curing a fixed-salary or job-code issue in the immigration record.

In the London offer record, record which visa-related fees, immigration health amounts and family applications the employer funds. Separate document support from payment. For the London offer check, a statement that the company will assist can mean only that it supplies a letter. When reviewing London offer, obtain the policy and approval route before giving the support a cash value.

If the offer relies on a London project, ask what happens at completion, delay or reassignment. Record the normal workplace and business-travel policy. A strong salary can still produce an unsuitable family case if the job moves across London and housing or school cannot follow.

Choose plausible areas from the actual office, project and school routes, then collect current property quotations. Record rent, council tax band, utilities, internet, parking and travel. Never use the cheapest city listing or a broad rent average to represent the home the household would accept.

Current GOV.UK guidance states limits for holding and tenancy deposits and describes approved protection for qualifying England tenancies. Apply the current rule to annual rent and the proposed tenancy. Never copy an old five-week assumption where the rent level or tenancy type changes the legal treatment.

Put holding deposit, tenancy deposit, first rent, temporary overlap, furniture and moving on their due dates. A monthly housing allowance can leave a large pre-payroll gap. Record employer advance or reimbursement only from written terms and timing.

Ask for the education cap per child, eligible schools and ages, covered charges, invoice name and payment route. The checked 2026-2027 school pages show tuition by grade plus different entry, capital, bus and other charges. One school's total cannot stand for another or for a different child.

Southbank and the American School in London show VAT treatment and payment structure, while ACS Hillingdon lists current grade fees inclusive of VAT. Use the precise grade and current invoice. Add application, assessment, deposit, capital fee, transport, uniform, device, trips and support before deducting employer help.

Show employee payment and reimbursement separately. Test whether advance invoices fall before the first salary or employer claim. A package that covers annual tuition may still fail because the family must fund acceptance and the first term immediately.

Record any immigration health payment separately from NHS registration and employer private medical insurance. Obtain the private insurer, beneficiary list, start date, network, excess, outpatient and hospital rules, exclusions and authorisation. Never assume an employee benefit includes a partner, child, maternity, dental or existing treatment.

NHS GP registration is free and the current page says ID, address proof and immigration status are not required, though practice boundaries and capacity can matter. Registration does not prove that every service is free for every overseas visitor. Keep charge, access and private-cover questions with the proper current organisation.

Price premiums paid by the family, medicines and expected uncovered care. Keep an emergency reserve outside ordinary monthly health cost. The offer gains only the value of costs genuinely removed by confirmed cover.

Map home, office, project sites, school and airport. Apply TfL fare tools and 2026 caps to the same repeated journeys, using the same contactless card or device where the official rules require it for correct capping. Add National Rail or airport services outside the relevant cap.

Record any employer travelcard, taxi, mileage or site-travel support and its personal-use limits. Business travel reimbursement is not household income. A central London job can still require expensive rail or taxi travel to projects, so confirm the ordinary workplace before valuing transport support.

If a car is considered, include finance, insurance, parking, fuel, maintenance and current road or emission charges that apply to the actual route. Never count a company or project vehicle as family transport unless the terms allow it.

Remove bonus, overtime, pending reimbursement and unconfirmed school or health support. Add the proposed rent, full travel pattern and home-country obligations. A positive default result is weak records if a small delay or omitted benefit makes it negative.

Read probation, notice, relocation repayment, visa-cost recovery and benefit-end terms together. Record each stated trigger and amount without deciding enforceability on this page. Obtain professional advice where the clause affects acceptance. Include the potential cash timing in the early-exit case.

Keep overseas mortgage, debt, family support and savings in their own currencies. Use a dated planning exchange rate and run a weaker-rate case. Never present an assumed rate as a prediction or use expected investment gains as monthly salary.

Write a one-page schedule of confirmed salary, allowances, direct benefits, reimbursements, conditions and unresolved points. Give every line a document and date. Keep the final offer, contract, immigration salary record and policies together. Never preserve only the interpretation that made the negotiation appear successful.

Set thresholds for dependable monthly balance, maximum arrival cash, housing, school and family health. Mark any unanswered stop point. Date the household case used to accept. Another authorised adult should reproduce the decision from records without needing the employee's memory.

After first pay, compare payslip, contract and bank credit. Update the model from written changes and actual costs, preserving the original. The calculator reports a cash scenario; it does not determine tax, immigration approval, whether a term applies or future bonus.

Prepare a comparison sheet that reproduces each written cash item, benefit, condition and date without converting an uncertain item into salary. Keep base pay, guaranteed allowance, reimbursable expense, discretionary award and employer-paid service in separate columns. Record the clause or policy for every entry. If a recruiter or manager describes a benefit that is absent from the written package, keep it unconfirmed until the employer supplies the governing terms.

Model cash timing, not only annual totals. Put the first salary date beside temporary accommodation, tenancy money, school invoices, immigration payments and family travel. A strong annual package can still create an arrival deficit when the employee must pay first and claim later. Preserve the base case and delayed-reimbursement case, and show the household reserve required by each rather than hiding timing inside a yearly average.

For housing, establish whether support is a fixed allowance, direct lease, reimbursed amount or temporary benefit. Record tax treatment only from appropriate records for the employee's case. Confirm deposit, rent, utility and early-exit responsibility. the same for schooling: name the covered child, fee categories, cap, payment route and continued-employment condition. A headline allowance cannot be compared properly until exclusions and payment dates are visible.

Test commuting from plausible homes to the office and expected project sites using the current TfL route and fare material. Add family school travel and late-work alternatives. Record home-working assumptions and required site days. Never value a travel benefit by its maximum possible use, and never describe a company vehicle or taxi policy as household transport unless personal use is expressly supported.

Run the offer case after current tax and National Insurance inputs have been identified, but mark the result as a planning scenario. Individual tax codes, residence, pension and benefits can alter the outcome. Compare net accessible cash after committed housing, school and travel costs. Never accept a gross-to-net estimate as professional tax advice or as a guarantee of the employer's payroll calculation.

Prepare a downside case for probation failure, project cancellation, delayed family arrival, early tenancy exit and benefit cessation. Use only consequences stated in the contract, policy, tenancy or school terms; leave uncertain possible consequences open. Record which risks the employer agreed to bear and which remain with the household. The purpose is to expose an unpriced commitment before acceptance.

Before signing, date the documents, assumptions and unanswered questions. Confirm that the employing entity, location, start date, salary currency, notice, sponsorship route and family support match across the offer, contract and policies. Save the accepted version. The calculator supports comparison between documented cases, but it cannot decide whether a term applies, immigration eligibility, tax liability or whether the role suits the professional.

Save the signed offer, contract, policies, calculator inputs and unanswered-question closure in one dated set. Record which official tax, immigration and fare pages were checked and their dates. If the employer later changes an allowance or workplace, create a new comparison rather than overwriting the case on which the household accepted the role.